Decision nears on voting machines

Units would be accessible to those with disabilities.

Units would be accessible to those with disabilities.

December 22, 2005|JAMES WENSITS Tribune Political Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The painstaking process of deciding which new, handicap-accessible voting machines to buy for St. Joseph County could end today. "We're at the last hour. We've got to have a decision," said County Commissioner Mark Dobson, R-District 1. The push to buy new voting machines is fueled by a requirement to be in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act, which requires that all polling places be handicap-accessible. The law's requirements initially called for the voting machines to be physically on hand by Jan. 1. That requirement is now being interpreted to mean that the machines must be on order by then and in place by the May primary election, according to AJ Feeney-Ruiz, communications director for Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita. County election officials and members of the Board of County Commissioners met Wednesday to try and choose between two machines under consideration, but opted to wait a day in order to get more detailed information on related costs before making a decision. The choices have boiled down to two machines, both produced by ES&S, the Omaha, Neb., company that supplied the M-100 optical scan machines that replaced the old mechanical voting machines in 2003. Both the Automark and iVotronic voting machines under consideration for purchase are touch-screen machines that can be used by persons who are blind or have other disabilities. The chief difference, other than cost, is that the Automark produces a paper ballot that can be counted along with other ballots, while the iVotronic counts votes but does not produce a paper trail of any kind. "Not in my mind," said Thomas Botkin, Republican member of the Election Board, when asked if he had any doubt as to which machine he likes best. "I prefer the Automark." Botkin said he believes that all county officials involved in the decision are in agreement that the Automark is the better machine, but recognize that it is more expensive. According to county officials, the Automark costs about $5,400 each, well over $1,000 more than the cost of the iVotronic machines. At least some of that cost is expected to be reimbursed by the federal government, through the state.